Divers find body of boy killed in copter crash

The body of 9-year-old Zachary T. West was found Monday morning inside the helicopter he was a passenger in when it crashed into the lake Sunday evening.

Joyce L. Miller

The body of 9-year-old Zachary T. West was found Monday morning inside the helicopter he was a passenger in when it crashed into the lake Sunday evening.

A cause of death will be released after an autopsy is performed.

Rescue crews had searched late into the night Sunday trying to locate the victim’s body. Shortly before midnight, the recovery operation was cancelled due to a series of storms that were moving in the lake area.

Crews were back on the job by 5:30 a.m. Monday with the Missouri Water Patrol dive team leading the recovery effort with side scan sonar.

The wreckage of the helicopter had been located within hours of the crash.

On Monday, divers used a series of air bags to raise the wreckage.

It was towed to a secure area where it will be impounded until investigators from the Federal Aviation Agency arrive. FAA officials will be in charge of determining what may have caused the helicopter to go down.

West, three other passengers and the pilot were on board the helicopter when it ran into problems.

Although there were reports of high winds, rain and small hail in other parts of Camden County, authorities did not mention weather conditions as a factor

When the pilot, Keith Baker, 50, of St. Louis, spoke with authorities, he said the helicopter encountered a problem with the tail rotor. He said he was unable to pull the helicopter out of the spin before it turned over and then onto its side as it went into the water.

Baker and three passengers managed to free themselves from the helicopter after it hit the water.

The helicopter sank in about 40 feet of water before coming to rest on the bottom of the lake. The site of the crash was about 200 feet from the shoreline.

The helicopter had apparently been on a short sightseeing tour of the lake and was heading back to land at a private residence off Las Campanas Drive in Porto Cima. The crash was reported about 7:15 p.m. by neighbors who saw the helicopter go down.

The helicopter went down within sight of the dock where family and friends were waiting for it to return.

Neighbors said the helicopter had been in and out several times that day.

Several of them saw the helicopter go down and heard cries for help as it sank. At least one reported seeing debris flying off the helicopter before it struck the water.

The helicopter was a MD500e manufactured by McDonnell Douglas. It was registered to Impact Aviation, LLC. of St. Louis.
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The passengers were identified as Nick Baker, 13, of Sunrise Beach/St. Louis, Michael Barth, 13, unknown residence and Anna Bierman, 24, of Macks Creek. Only one of the passengers was transported to Lake Regional Hospital for treatment of what were described as minor injuries.